The Layers of Motherhood

I found my NEW Normal and it is a moving target…….

Normal…..this is one thing that many people strive to be….then some of us like to say that we like to be a little different. I am sure you heard the term growing up….”that is not normal”. So who defines “normal”? Somewhere along the way “normal” was defined as we were growing up and this is probably the pattern of life that you thought you would be following. I never knew what it would mean to have to find a new normal for my life. I grew up in a family of five and the most challenging thing growing up with 2 sisters was waiting in line for the bathroom. Life growing up seemed very normal for me.

We had families who lived down the street that we would say as kids…..” that is the family that is not normal”. I have no idea really why we said that other than for some reason they did not fit into what we did.

I dreamed of a career, not staying at home….I loved the thought of working, not having a husband and children….traveling and always learning new things was on the top of my list, not having a life filled with special needs, daily challenges, trying to follow a constant moving target and not having an ordinarily life.

Then life took over and little did I know that I would be a mom, a wife, a career woman, a wife of a husband with epilepsy and on full-time disability, a mom of a special needs son, a mom of a “average” son (as most people classify it), a mom who would homeschool her two boys, and that my life would take a turn in a way that I could never have imagined. I would have a life of major change… to the point that I would feel like a single working parent and a single woman many times in my “normal” life.

After being a mom to my first son where it seemed to be a very normal life and raising him was very natural, I thought had it all figured out. Then to have 2 miscarriages, and then many years later I would find out that our second child would come through adoption and have a life long list of 4 major disabilities. We would then to be told he would never walk or talk and to accept what his life would be. Wow….what happened to my ordinary life?

The normal life that I knew growing up just came to a screeching halt. Where is my normal? How do I now function? Where to go from here…..

So what is normal?? This is a question that has taken me years to realize that there is no such thing. When you live your life and ask the Lord to guide and direct you …..the target and life that you keep striving for….keeps moving and changing.

So what is my new normal and where am I now in this thing we call life? A woman who works out of the home full-time, a mom of an adult son who is now married, a mother-in-law, a home-school mom of a teenager with special needs, a wife of a husband on full time disability due to epilepsy, a woman who runs a ministry out of my home, a woman who is in leadership in my local church, a woman who has now entered the age of helping older parents adjust to their new norm as they age, and along with all of this…..a woman that still needs to be just a woman who enjoys life for herself in just being simply Lynn.

I am on a journey in life that is exciting, ever changing, and full of challenges, stress, fun, and new adventures all the time. The young woman who dreamed of a life of a career and travel was short lived. My new normal changed me and allowed me to become the wife, mother and woman I am now. My norm is not the norm I dreamed of….and my norm is not normal…. it is a constant moving target and this was not the life that I would have chosen.

This is my story and we all have one, the chapters are being written and the book has not been completed. I have come to realize that my fears, desires, challenges, and my everyday life and my everyday normal……are unique and different. Yet there are so many similarities that we can share together as we walk our journey as moms and women .

I would love to share with you my heart and the daily delights that God shares and sends to me. I would love to share with you what I have learned from being a wife of an epileptic and a mom of an autistic son. I would love to share with you what I have learned from the challenges and uniquenesses of my life. There are so many layers to a life that is not normal and your normal is a moving target. Come and join me on my journey of finding our NEW daily norm and also adding to our “Resumes of being a mother”.

Come with me as we see how full our resume is with all that we do….look forward to stories, challenges through devotions, recipes, special needs tips and tricks, women’s ministry ideas, tips on adapting to a change in your life, how to move forward in a new norm, crafts, DIY’s, basic budgeting ideas for broke people and so much more.

I am so looking forward to connecting with you and getting to reach out and touch your life even if it is in a small way to encourage you a mom and a woman.